Identities: Feminist theory and blog task

1) How might this video contribute to Butler’s idea that gender roles are a ‘performance’?

In the video you see the stereotype of women having to be a certain way with Beyonce showcasing these stereotypes in the music video of her cleaning and cooking and her unable to fix the car because that's a man's job which links with Butler's ideology of a performance because Beyonce in the video is performing to the stereotypes of the age she is trying to represent.

2) Would McRobbie view Beyonce as an empowering role model for women?

The alternative view is that this empowers women because women can talk about how far they have come from the preconceived stereotypes of old which is showcased in this music video and which further boosts my point their was a very small scene where Beyonce is cleaning her multiple music awards which further adds to the point of the video which is to empower women not suppress them.

3) What are your OWN views on this debate – does Beyonce empower women or reinforce the traditional ‘male gaze’ (Mulvey)?

I believe that the video does empower women instead of reinforcing the traditional male gaze. I believe this due to the fact that Beyonce's reputation and how she is a very strong personality and how she has been very independent in how she handles herself which leads me to think that she would make a video for the purpose to overly sexualised women due to her reputation and also as I mentioned before I believe that the video was made to showcase how far women have come throughout the years. I understand this video could be interpreted in a highly sexual way but the male gaze being a key part in that argument but I disagree with that ideology due to the musician and her campaign to empower women.

Post-colonialism: Edward Said blog task

1) Summarise the three theorists we have looked at: Alvarado, Fanon and Said.

Fanon - Putting on the White Mask
Said - East vs West
Alvardo - Representation of Black People

2) Watch the opening of Yasmin (2004) again. Does it offer a positive or negative view of British Muslims? To what extent does it reinforce or challenge Edward Said's theory of Orientalism - that the west is superior to the exotic or uncivilised east?

This clip from Yasmin represents the Eastern cultures in a more negative light in comparison to a positive. I say this due to the overwheling evidence that portrays the eastern culture in negative light. Firstly I will cover the positives in the clip for example: When they showcased the Mosk in a positive light with them portraying it as the status quo with it not being treated as anything special. Another positive scene in the opening clip with when they had the little boy reading from Quran as well but other than does two scenes the majority of the clip portrays the east in a negaitve light. For example Yasmin completely disregarding her heritage and adopted western ideologies instead which leads to her leaving her house in eastern clothing for her to take them off the moment she can be completely alone. Also on the garage door they had graffiti on the door saying "go away paki" which highlight how the eastern people are still treated like outcasts even in areas where they are the majority. Also the eastern man who was eating peanut butter out of the jar and cook his food outside also showcases eastern people in a negative light.

3) Finally, choose THREE clips for EACH of the theorists and explain how you could apply that theory to the clip. Pick a selection of clips on YouTube from TV, film, music video or advertising and embed them in your blog before writing your analysis under each clip. Note: this means you need NINE clips in total on this blogpost.


Alvardo

In this clip you have Samuel Jackson play a gangster in Pulp Fiction and the character in this clip is a bible preaching gun slinging nut case that is out of control which links to him being Dangerous due to his portrayal in this scene.

In this clip from Bad Boys they very quickly assume that the two black men are immediately criminals due to their colour this is why I say they are pitied in this scene due to the label they are given due to their skin.


In this clip from Forrest Gump they represent Bubba in this clip as even dumber than Forrest Gump himself which I believe is very offensive due to the fact that Forrest Gump is clearly mentally challenged and they decided to give Forrest Gump a dumber black sidekick this links with Alvardo due to the audience showing pity to Bubba for being this way but at the same time they portray him as Humorous due to his obsession with shrimp.

Said


In this clip of Citizen Khan they display all of the eastern stereotypes of a Asian living in a western society with all of the stereotypical props that would be in a program like this.
In this clip from Bad Boys a key stereotypes from the eastern culture specifically in the middle eastern countries that they are all gun using psychopaths which is displayed in this scene. 

Fanon

In this clip even if he has one line Django is portrayed as Dicivilised due to his ability to shrug of racism from his own colour
This interview showcases the full effect of Essertialize because they confuse Samuel L Jackson with other black celebrity relating to all blacks being the same entity.

In this clip they decvilise the characters in a playful way with the characters all eyeing up a white male and the director knowing the stereotype of muggers and black males which relates to Decivilising.

29/01/16 News Stories

Children spending more time online than watching TV for the first time

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jan/26/children-time-online-watching-tv?CMP=share_btn_tw

Research firm Childwise found that on average five- to 15-year-olds were spending three hours a day using the internet, compared to 2.1 hours watching TV. The amount of time children spend in front of a television screen has been declining steadily from a high of three hours in 2000/2001 and was at 2.3 hours last year. However, time online has seen a huge surge according to the research, up 50% from two hours last year. The research, which is based on an online survey of more than 2,000 children, did not distinguish between TV-like services on the internet, such as Netflix and iPlayer, and other forms of browsing such as Facebook, meaning it is unclear whether children are merely watching shows in different ways.

Facebook to rival Periscope with new live video feature

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/28/facebook-live-video-rival-periscope

Facebook will start broadcasting live video in a dedicated space on its iPhone app, it announced on 28 January. The feature will initially only be accessible for users in the US who have the Facebook iPhone app and will extend the feature to the rest of its 1.6 billion users over the next few weeks. An Android version is also being developed. CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized video during the company’s most recent financial results. He said lighter, less data-intensive versions have been introduced for users in developing countries, as well as more video advertising tools for brands.

Identities: Post-colonial theory & blog tasks

1) Read the excellent article exploring the different representations of black people in British film and TV from Media Magazine 42 (MM42 fromour Media Magazine archive - page 51)

2) List FIVE films, FIVE TV programmes and FIVE online-only productions that are discussed in the article.

Films

• Adulthood
• Shank
• Ill Manors
• Star Trek
• Attack the block

TV Programmes:

• Citizen Khan
• The Kumars at No.42
• Goodness Gracious Me
• Luther
• Top boy

Online-only productions:

• Venus vs Mars
• The Ryan sisters
• Brother with no game
• All about the McKenzies
• Meet the abdenanjos

3) Watch Destiny Ekaragha's clips above (more of her work is available on her website, including the short film The Park). To what extent can we apply Alvarado's and Fanon's theories to these films? Do they reinforce or subvert typical black stereotypes in British film and TV? Refer to specific scenes and events in the clips in answering this question and aim for at least 350 words.

Stereotypes have been a dominate part of media in the modern age with black stereotypes consistently being used against them. So in TV / Film and the internet directors play with the idea of stereotyping races by using it to reinforce and at the same time fight these same stereotypes for example, Tight Jeans directed by Destiny Ekaragha included a scene where three black teenagers were all sitting on a wall waiting for their friend to come over in a car and Destiny fightss with Stereotypes as well as reinforces stereotypes at the same time. Firstly they had the three black males wear hoodies which is normally associated with negative stereotypes of black gangsters hurting people which reinforces black stereotypes. However they got them to wear bright colours like light blue, red and a stripped hoodie which counters the common stereotypes of gangster because they would wear very dark colour unlike the ones in this scene. Another example in this clip is where they are eyeing up this white stranger walking pass them, the stereotype would be the case that these black males would rush him and take his belongs. However they comment on the what he is wearing instead which is a normal thing to do which once again counters the preconceived stereotypes set by the general public. And also at the end of the film they play again with the idea of the three black men robbing another white man when Tyrone tell them to be calm and he will be 5 minutes which once again counters the mainstream stereotypes that are being set by the general public. Overall I believe that stereotypes are now used to be played with instead of being reinforced due to the fact that everyone is aware of these stereotypes and how mainstream they have become leading to more black directors and actors wanting to counter these preconceived stereotypes that are being set.

22/01/16 News Stories

ITV's National Television Awards show draws lowest audience for eight years

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jan/21/itv-national-television-awards-bbc-leicester-tottenham

ITV’s coverage of the National Television Awards has attracted its lowest audience in eight years, with fewer than 5.5 million tuning in to see Strictly Come Dancing beat The X Factor to the best talent show prize. 

National Television Awards: Downton Abbey crowned best drama

 

Read more

The programme, presented by Dermot O’Leary and broadcast live from the O2 arena in London, attracted 5.47 million viewers and a 25.5% share of total television viewing between 7.30pm and 10pm on Wednesday. This was the event’s poorest overnight rating since 2008, the last awards presented by O’Leary’s predecessor, Sir Trevor McDonald, which pulled in 5.3 million viewers and a 22% share.

Sun website traffic falls by more than 5% despite axing of paywall

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jan/21/sun-website-traffic-paywall-december

The Sun saw a more than 5% fall in its audience in December, despite dropping its paywall fully for the first time on 30 November. theguardian.com fell from an average of more than 9 million daily unique browsers in November to just under 8 million, a drop of 15%, while the Telegraph slid to 4.1 million after losing almost 1 million unique browsers, equivalent to almost 20% of its audience. 

Mail Online 13,182,486 (-9.9%) 
theguardian.com 7,847,537 (-15.4%)
Telegraph 4,038,417 (-19.59%)
Mirror Group Nationals 3,994,246 (-15.79%)
The Independent 2,796,267 (-14.68%)
The Sun 1,525,662 (-5.63%)
Metro 1,117,256 (-22.96%)
express.co.uk 1,065,378 (-18.72%)
dailystar.co.uk 594,230 (-8.8%)

15/01/16 News Stories

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/15/stolen-the-people-trading-app-shuts-down



The app had become a viral hit, despite never becoming more than an invite-only service, with tens of thousands of users and a constant clamour for invitation codes from others. But it had also faced an increasing amount of criticism over the nature of its game, which involves playing at buying and selling the Twitter accounts of real people – most of whom had never signed up to the game.

The central gameplay of Stolen involved accumulating a virtual currency, which players then used to “buy” other people’s Twitter accounts. It sparked criticism from commentators including Gadgette’s Holly Brockwell and the Guardian’s Leigh Alexander, who pointed out the distastefulness of the app’s tone: when a user is “stolen”, a banner appears declaring that they “belong to you now”.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/rebekah-brooks-new-claims-that-phone-hacking-was-rife-at-the-sun-under-former-editor-a6810976.html



Lawyers for News Group Newspapers, a division of Rupert Murdoch’s UK print business, told a High Court hearing that a “new flank” of hacking claims had been opened against Rupert Murdoch’s daily tabloid.  The potential inclusion of The Sun in the third tranche of phone-hacking civil actions – which had previously all related to its sister paper the NOTW – could leave the company facing substantial extra compensation payouts.

Identities and the Media: Reading the riots

How did the language and selection of images in the coverage create a particular representation of young people? 

The language and images used by the media mainly to portray young people as the violent, aggressive, selfish people who don't care about anything but themselves with the media labelling them as Chavs.

Why does David Buckingham mention Owen Jones and his work Chavs: the demonisation of the working class?

David Buckingham mentioned Owen Jones and his work due to this story heavily relating to the type of philosophy that Owen Jones believes in. During the London Riots the class divide has never been so clear which is why referencing Owen Jones work made sense to talk about.
What is the typical representation of young people – and teenage boys in particular? What did the 2005 IPSOS/MORI survey find?

The survey results came out with 40% of all news stories involving youth were related to violence, crime or anti-social behaviour. Also 71% could be interpreted as having a negative tone. So representation of a young person was violent, anti social and a future criminal.
How can Stanley Cohen’s work on Moral Panic be linked to the coverage of the riots?

In relation to moral panic the reaction from the newspapers passively made the general public all have a negative outlook on the youth demographic just by using so incriminating images a bold headlines.

What elements of the media and popular culture were blamed for the riots?

The platform the media always blamed for misbehaviour is violent video games because they believe every person who plays video games is going to become a violent socio-path. Also they blamed Rap music for being aggressive and reality TV.
How was social media blamed for the riots? What was interesting about the discussion of social media when compared to the Arab Spring in 2011?

Rioters would use social media like Facebook, Twitter and BBM to communicate and locate the next area they were going to "protest" which is a very similar technique that they used in Egypt, Tunisia and Syria.  
The riots generated a huge amount of comment and opinion - both in mainstream and social media. How can the two-step flow theory be linked to the coverage of the riots? 

With politicians having so much power due to their opinions and believe the general public can be easily fooled to believe whatever crazy philosophy that any politician believe in which is where the two step flow theory comes into effect with them voicing their opinion and the general public copying that opinion like sheep. 

Alternatively, how might media scholars like Henry Jenkins view the 'tsunami' of blogs, forums and social media comments? Do you agree that this shows the democratisation of the media?

The tsunami of blogs highlight how a lot of people are still not easily manipulated by the over powering newspaper companies with blogs siding with the rioters which wouldn't be a mainstream view.
What were the right-wing responses to the causes of the riots?

Blaming the riots on the youth inability to get a job, having a lack of education, describing them as "wild beast", and using the recent cuts as an excuse to riot in the first place.
What were the left-wing responses to the causes of the riots?

High unemployment, highest level of poverty in recent years and the removal of the the education maintenance allowance lead to the London Riots.
What are your OWN views on the main causes of the riots?

I believe that the London Riots were a combination of the murder of Mark Duggan and the police lashing out at the innocent protesters that just wanted to get their voice heared leading to the London Riots with people in poverty leaching on to this opportunity of chaos and decided to go absolutely crazy.

Were people involved in the riots given a voice in the media to explain their participation?
No the rioters didn't get a voice because of the fact that they got their opinion of modern day society with the riots itself and also the fact that newspapers were never going to side with the rioters it would lead to bad business and newspapers need all the business they can get.

In the Guardian website's investigation into the causes of the riots, they did interview rioters themselves. Read this Guardian article from their Reading the Riots academic research project - what causes are outlined by those involved in the disturbances?

Details of the research findings, which are also based on an analysis of an exclusive database of more than 2.5m riot-related tweets, will be unveiled in a series of reports over the next five days. Monday's findings include:

•Many rioters conceded that their involvement in looting was simply down to opportunism, saying that a perceived suspension of normal rules presented them with an opportunity to acquire goods and luxury items they could not ordinarily afford. They often described the riots as a chance to obtain "free stuff" or sought to justify the theft.

What is your own opinion on the riots? Do you have sympathy with those involved or do you believe strong prison sentences are the right approach to prevent such events happening in future?

I don't believe any of does actions to be honest, the London Riots were an anomaly a case where a bunch of bad things happening all at the same time that all related to youth population get screwed again leading to an event like this. I don't sympathies with the rioters because they had an message to begin with but it lead to just mindless rioting without a message but I don't believe making the prison sentence longer is a good thing either because of the fact that something like this will properly never happen again or at least not like this.

08/01/16 News Stories

Netflix, Spotify and Apple power UK entertainment revenue to record £6.1b

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jan/06/netflix-spotify-apple-uk-entertainment-revenue-adele

The rise in popularity of paying for TV content from the likes of Netflix, Apple’s iTunes, Sky Store and Amazon Prime fuelled a 30% surge in digital video revenues to top £1bn for the first time (£1.09bn). The digital boost countered a 15% fall in sales of DVD and Blu-ray on the high street to £1.07bn and a 28% decline in the physical rental market to £76.9m, as the overall video market crept up by 1.5% to £2.24bn. This year will mark the point that digital video will surpass physical sales to account for more than 50% of total video revenues for the first time – but the disc is not on the verge of extinction just yet.

YouTube boss: 'Aim to be the next PewDiePie, not the next Tom Cruise'

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/07/youtube-red-robert-kyncl-pewdiepie-tom-cruise

Internet video has become so important, and Kyncl’s role so influential, conference attendees at the Consumer Electronics Show formed a line through the casino. Four hundred hours of video are shared on YouTube every single minute. More than a billion people watch something on the site every month. And if those stats weren’t enough, Kyncl added that 600,000 people cut their cable subscriptions last quarter, a sobering new record for the industry. The big news Kyncl might have talked about is the new paid subscription service YouTube Red. This is not to be confused with popular porn site RedTube. YouTube Red is aimed at very young consumers who want more content from ultra viral stars like PewDiePie (whose channel has nearly 11 billion views) or who want to skip ads that are put on the most viral content. Kyncl sees stardom becoming even more fractured as internet celebrities have better revenue streams.